It’s where you spend an hour or a day or a week or even a year simply absorbing the work that already exists around you and seeking out inspiration.

If you want to write a book, the first phase of creatively pursuing that goal might be to absorb pieces of works that you already enjoy reading, to get a sense for what’s out there and to find your own voice amongst it. If you want to be an artist, the initial phase is all about researching art forms and other artists. If you want to start a business, the first step is the same, you simply look to make sure nobody is already using your idea or to find inspiration for what you could possible do.

But what if, just for now, we skipped that first phase?

What if, instead of consuming the books and artworks and business ideas and letterforms and tools… what if we simply got started? What if we jumped on our ideas immediately instead of pondering on them for any amount of time? If we used what we know now, with what we have around us, and just started the work?

By simply leaping onto your ideas you become your own source of inspiration. Not always, but more often than not.

Try this, just for a while: forget about finding inspiration or ideas or motivation and simply start the work. Doing so could be the best thing you’ve done.